It always surprises me when I realise that 'negotiation' is not taught as a skill at any stage in our formal educational life.
What is amazing is that negotiation is a skill that is useful in every sphere of our lives. However, most of us blunder our way through negotiations, due to our inherent self. People who are assertive can negotiate better but their focus remain themselves. People who are non-assertive (like me!) can get swept away when negotiating with an assertive individual and neglecting their own wants and needs.
Negotiation is a skill that is closely tied to one's personality and that is why a formalised education in the processes of negotiation is useful for everyone. It gives people like me an opportunity to claw back into the race. :-) Most of all negotiation is used in every aspect of corporate life...with external customers or vendors, with internal staff and line managers, to get budgets that one wants, to get one's salary or raise or to change one's role. It seems criminal not to develop this skill.
Originally posted in June 2004
Negotiations is one of the best courses I took in business school. Mix of game theory, role playing situations, simulations, case studies, etc. But you are right, never saw this in formal education before then.
ReplyDeleteHello Gautam, right thoughts here. i agree when you say "People who are non-assertive (like me!) can get swept away when negotiating with an assertive individual and neglecting their own wants and needs" assertiveness adn the right kind is also one of the key elements of marketing - whether marketing oneself or some product. And of course a very essential indgredient of leadership.
ReplyDeleteI had some tips here on my blog, hope you and your readers will find it valuable:
Are you Assertive or Timid at Work? (link: http://careerbright.blogspot.com/2007/11/are-you-assertive-and-timid-at-work.html )
A quote that I would like to share with you:
"Modesty is related to difidence, difidence is related to shyness, Shyness is a synonym for timidity, timidity is a characteristic of the meek, the meek do not inherit the Earth, they serve those who are self confident and self assertive." Dean Koontz
-Shweta@Careerbright
no behaviorial scientist here..but if this is a part of personality.. then taken all students together in a classroom being given formal education in negotiation..the person having natural flair for negotiation/good at making his point will again be better than those who lack this flair...isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIronically, all negotiation techniques we learn and use as children fizzles away as we grow older and mould ourselves into fixed stereotypes. While bits of negotation can be learned and practiced, anyone who manages to retain, cultivate and use those childhood techniques effectively within the real-world scenario will be highly successful!!
ReplyDelete